Lizzie's New Gifts
by iLuvHawkeye
Summary: When Lizzie is zapped by a green ray, weird things start happening, and two different people are trying to get her on their side, what will she do?
1. And So It Begins

A/N: Lizzie McGuire and X-Men are not owned by me. The plot is, however, my own.  
  
Lizzie stared out the window sullenly, watching the trees go by, and then saw the sign that announced they were leaving state. Moving, she decided, was the worst punishment that could be inflicted upon a girl.  
  
When she had discovered she was moving, she announced that she wanted to be known as Mara, not Lizzie, because Mara meant bitter.  
  
Of course, it didn't stick. But never in her life had Lizzie been so depressed, frustrated, and angry. When she thought back to when she had told her best friends, Miranda and Gordo, about it, tears sprung to her eyes as the dreadful scene played inside her mind once more...  
  
"So, Lizzie, why have you invited us over on a Friday afternoon again?" Miranda asked. "I thought your parents said Friday was family day or something weird like that." Lizzie twisted her hair anxiously and gnawed on her lip.  
  
"Yeah, well, something important came up and they made an exception." "Whoa," Gordo said, taken aback. "It must be really important."  
  
Her eyes narrowed with concern, Miranda leaned forward. "Yeah, come on, Lizzie, tell us."  
  
Lizzie eyed both of her friends, feeling a lump in her throat. She took a deep breath, and said quickly, "We're moving." For a moment, no one spoke. Then Miranda burst out, "WHAT??" as Gordo asked, "Why?"  
  
"Because my dad got a really great job offer," Lizzie said, taking another deep breath. "Wait," Gordo said, suddenly feeling sick. "Where...where is his new job?"  
  
Lizzie gulped. "Massachusetts." "Wow," Miranda said numbly. "That's...really far away."  
  
"Yeah," Lizzie said, tears springing to her eyes. "But you can email, IM, or call me whenever, you know. Maybe we can even get WebCams."  
  
"Maybe," Gordo said numbly. "I...I gotta go, Lizzie," Miranda said, getting up quickly and running out the door, and Lizzie could hear the faint sound of sobs as Miranda exited the house.  
  
She stared down at her lap, for a second forgetting that Gordo was still there. "I'll call you later," he said quietly, and left.  
  
Lizzie stared after her friends, and then cried.  
  
Lizzie wiped tears from her eyes, furious with herself. "Focus," she said sternly. She was almost unaware that Matt had come up next to her. "Hey, Lizzie, can I borrow your Walkman?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, whatever," she said absently. "And your punk-rock CDs?" he asked hopefully. "Yeah, whatever," she said again.  
  
"Rest-room break!" her mom announced moments later. Lizzie, not needing a break, still got out of the car anyway, and walked around the back of the rest-stop area, just exercising her legs.  
  
Suddenly, a green ray struck her, and she cried out with pain. The agony seemed to last forever, and then it was abruptly gone. Lizzie collapsed to the ground, her body a mass of pain, her head throbbing, her legs and arms cramping.  
  
And then suddenly, she was fine. Carefully, she tested her legs and arms for tinctures of cramps, but none remained.  
  
She looked around for the source of the green ray, but it was nowhere to be found. Feeling a little fearful and cautious, she headed back for the car.  
  
In the car again, Lizzie claimed her Walkman amidst her brother's cries of "Unfair!" and "I hate you!"  
  
She plugged in Vanessa Carlton and listened the teen's haunting yet cheery songs as she stared out the window again. Suddenly, her eyes went blank and she stared into space, her jaw slackened a little.  
  
But inside her mind, there was a flash of color, and a spinning sort of motion that made Lizzie feel as if she was falling, and then there was a picture of their car on the highway, just entering West Virginia, narrowly avoiding a collision with a pick-up truck.  
  
And suddenly she felt like she was falling up, and there was another flash, and then she could see again. She breathed in deeply, her heart thudding about a zillion miles an hour.  
  
She eventually dismissed it as a freak incident, and continued to listen to Vanessa, trying to calm her fast-beating heart.  
  
An hour later, they were about to enter West Virginia, and Lizzie had practically forgotten about the picture she had seen. Her dad and mom were arguing over the map, and Matt was talking on the cell-phone with Lanny.  
  
Suddenly, Lizzie screamed, "Dad, look out!" Sam slammed on the brakes, squealing to a stop, just narrowly avoiding a collision with a pick-up truck.  
  
He got out of the car with her mom, Jo, to talk angrily with the other driver as Lizzie murmured in shock to herself, "I saw that. I saw it, I did."  
  
"Oh would you shut up," Matt snapped at her, shaken by the close call, and then hurried to say, "Oh, no, not you, Lanny. My dumb sister..."  
  
Lizzie got out of the car dazedly, and looked back at the road they had just traveled. And she knew that somehow something had happened to her- something that was definitely not normal. And she had to find someone to help her fix it.  
  
A/N: Okay, this is gonna be such fun!! Lizzie meets X-Men! I hope you enjoy reading it, because I am having such fun writing it! 


	2. Identified Thoughts

Lizzie and her family were sitting in the police office, getting ready to have a short, miniscule hearing. Her dad was in a very bad mood, as this caused complications in their trip to their new home in New England, her mother was trying to calm him down, Matt was sending a text message to (who else?) Lanny on Jo's cell-phone, and Lizzie was still trying to absorb the fact that she had seen the car crash before it happened.  
  
Suddenly, she heard her mom speak. Her head whipped up to look at her, but Jo's lips weren't moving. "_Oh, great_," Lizzie heard her mom say, "_he's going into one of_ _his moods again_." "Who's what, Mom?" Lizzie asked.  
  
Jo shot her daughter a strange look. "What?" she asked. "Didn't you just say something?" Lizzie asked. "No," Jo said slowly. "Why?" Lizzie stammered, "N-never mind."  
  
"What's going on?" Lizzie wondered with fright. "Did I just hear my mom think?"  
  
"_Oh, boy_," she heard Matt think, "_she's going wacko again_." Irritated, Lizzie looked around for something to throw at her brother, and reached for a notebook, but it picked itself up of its own accord and threw itself at Matt. "Ah!" Matt screamed, and ducked. "Flying evil notebook!"  
  
Lizzie stared at the fallen notebook, slack-jawed. "I didn't do that," she said, either as a statement or else she was trying to convince herself she didn't. "Freak," she heard Matt think.  
  
Before she could reach for the notebook with her hands, it hit Matt on the head. "This is so weird," Matt said, wide-eyed.  
  
"Mom, Dad," Lizzie said numbly. "I'm going to the bathroom." "Okay, honey," Sam said through gritted teeth as he stared angrily at the pick-up truck driver. Strangely, neither her parents nor the other driver had seemed to notice the notebook incident.  
  
Lizzie practically ran for the bathroom, feeling like she was numb all over. She slammed the door shut and with shaking fingers slid the bolt into place and leaned against the door, breathing hard.  
  
"This is too weird," she said to herself. "Okay, think: ever since the ray hit you, you saw the future, read your mom and brother's minds, and picked up a notebook with your mind."  
  
Lizzie laughed shortly when she heard the absurdity of her words. "Okay, let's really see if I can lift things with my mind," she chuckled. She lifted a hand, and motioned at the bar of soap resting on the counter, and imagined lifting the soap with an invisible hand.  
  
She laughed, half-expecting for nothing to happen. But suddenly, the soap hovered in the air, and then slowly came to rest in her out-stretched hand. "Ah!!" Lizzie shrieked, and let the soap hit the ground, bathing the filthy floor with soapy suds.  
  
Lizzie clutched her head. "Okay. Let's try reading minds, then," she decided. She tried to direct her attention on one particular object, but failed miserably. So, she let her mind wander, and eventually, like a radio dial, got in tune with a station-er, person.  
  
"_I cannot believe this rotten luck. I don't deserve to be sued_," Sam fumed. "_He's the_ _idiot who was driving on the wrong side of the road_!" Lizzie stopped listening abruptly, and said monotonously, "I'm dreaming. This is not happening to me." She pinched herself. "Ow. Okay. I'm not dreaming. Okay, calm down, Lizzie. First, I gotta find somebody who can help me with this...this thing. That'll be the first step. Okay, next, find out if the X- Men exist."  
  
She laughed at herself. "This is so stupid. If the X-Men do exist (which of course they don't, being cartoon characters), or if someone like them exist, then they'll find me, not vice versa. So all I gotta do is wait." She waited for a second, then slumped over and sighed. "Easier said than done."  
  
Lizzie and her family were soon on the road again, narrowly escaping being sued, but as a result, they were now 5 hours behind schedule, which meant they would reach their home probably early next morning, if they didn't stop for anything, and that was inevitable due to Matt's short attention span.  
  
Lizzie was now listening to Lillix's "Falling Uphill" CD, which seemed to fit her situation currently, when she had a flash of color. She saw herself, staring at a huge house, and a sign that said "**Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters**" and hesitating at the gates.  
  
As Lizzie came out of the vision, she gasped aloud. "I can't believe it!" she said to herself. "Can't believe what, honey?" Jo said to her. "That's she's a freak," Matt answered. Lizzie tried to resist her urge, but she couldn't. Matt's book whacked him on the head.  
  
"Mom!" Matt screamed. "Something freaky is happening!" Jo stared slack- jawed at Matt and his book, and Sam slammed the brakes on as he pulled over to the side of the road. "Lizzie, do you have any idea what is going on?" Sam demanded.  
  
"Why are you asking me?" Lizzie asked, falling upon her sullen-teenager act that almost always worked. It didn't this time. "Lizzie, answer his question," Jo said sharply. Lizzie slumped in her seat and sighed.  
  
"Okay. Ever since we took that rest-break before we reached West Virginia, weird things have started happening to me! I was walking along the property, you know? And all of a sudden, this weird green ray hits me, and it hurts like nothing I've ever experienced, and then all of a sudden the pain's gone, and I go back to the car, and-"Lizzie paused to take a deep breath, and then continued. "And I have this weird picture in my mind about Dad and this pick-up truck narrowly avoiding a crash, and then it actually comes true, and when we were in the police office, I started being able to read minds, but I couldn't focus on them, like-""Wait a minute," Jo interrupted, "this doesn't have to do with when you asked me who was going into one of his moods, did it?" "Um, yeah, actually," Lizzie admitted. "I heard you. And then I heard Matt say-think, I mean-oh boy, she's going into one of her moods, and I felt this urge to hit him, so I reached for a notebook, but it hit him of its own accord, and then I went to the bathroom, and I realized that I can see the future, read minds, and move things with my mind, and-"  
  
All of a sudden, thousands of voices started screaming in Lizzie's head. She clutched her head in pain, curling into the fetal position. She dimly heard her parents' frantic shouts of "Lizzie? Lizzie, honey, are you okay?"  
  
She screamed with pain, "Too many voices! Too many! Too many!" Inside her head she heard, "_Goddess, did you see that guy? So hot_." "_You retard_!" "_I love you, darling_." "_Go and see Lizzie McGuire-she's the one we need_." "_And on page 92, we have the beginning of the Spanish Revolution." "Hola, como esta?" "No, I don't think roses are_ _proper-I told her to get tulips_!"  
  
And then it mercifully stopped. Lizzie grasped her head in both hands, gasping, her face covered with sweat. She opened her eyes and hazily saw her parents leaning over her. "Lizzie? Are you okay?" her mom asked with concern. "There were so many voices in my head," Lizzie murmured.  
  
"Like when the radio messed up and all the stations were jumbled together?" Matt asked. "He actually got it right," Lizzie mumbled with surprise.  
  
"So-you're psychic and telepathic?" her dad asked with a trace of sarcasm. "So it would appear," Jo answered.

Lizzie was too exhausted to remember the one thought that had come through crystal clear: "_Go and see Lizzie McGuire: she's the one we need."_

A/N: excited shriek I am having such fun!! Hope you are!! 


	3. First Telepathic Conversation

They arrived at their home around 5 A.M. the next morning, everyone deadly quiet as they thought about what had happened, Lizzie especially. She had just remembered the scary thought: Go and see Lizzie McGuire-she's the one we need, and was trying to think about who could need her, Lizzie McGuire.  
  
"Here we are," Sam said in a tired voice. Lizzie jolted back from her reverie, and inadvertently heard Jo think, "This is our new home? More like our new mansion!"  
  
Lizzie looked outside and gasped. They were in front of a monstrous house, with three floors at least, Lizzie realized. It had a beautiful garden, and, Lizzie was sure, probably secret passages inside!  
  
"Whoa!" Matt cried excitedly. "Dad, you got us a house with a pool??" "Yeah, you like it, son?" Sam asked with a smile.  
  
"Do I ever!" Matt cried ecstatically. "I get the room with the view," Lizzie announced. "That one, up there!" she pointed. "The one on the third floor with the balcony." "I wanted that one!" Matt whined. "Tough luck, brat," she shot back. "I claimed it." "Not if I get there first," Matt dared her.  
  
"Matt, your sister claimed it, the room is hers," Jo said sternly. "Ha," Lizzie stuck her tongue out at him. "Of course, Lizzie, if you don't want it, me and your dad will be more than happy-"Jo started. "No, no, it's fine!" Lizzie smiled.  
  
As soon as the door opened, Lizzie raced inside, carrying her suitcase and backpack. "Whoa," she said excitedly. "This place is the bomb!"  
  
Before her parents could start to tell her to help them unpack the van, she raced up the two flights of stairs to the third floor.  
  
Dawn was just starting to show its face, she realized. The perfect opportunity to see it from her new balcony, she thought with a squeal. She opened several doors, trying to find it, until she opened one that was at the very end of the hall.  
  
She gasped. It was beautiful. The walls were painted a goldenrod color of the sunset. She dropped her suitcase and backpack with a thud as she looked around. Wood floors, a window seat, and-she gasped again.  
  
She had a huge walk-in closet and her own bathroom! And a loft! She realized again. Out on her balcony, there was a small chair that had been left behind by the previous owners. She collapsed on it, and breathed in the fresh New England air.  
  
And she watched the sun come up, bringing with it light, and brilliant colors of pink, red, and gold.  
  
"Elizabeth Brooke McGuire!" Jo called from the second floor. "I have no idea where your room is, young lady, but you will stop levitating your bed this instant!!"  
  
Lizzie sighed and waved her hand, and heard her bed bump down upon the floor. "Lizzie, I appreciate the fact that you're trying to help move things in, but please! Let your father handle this!"  
  
"Whatever, Mom!" Lizzie yelled. "Lizzie, come and get some of your moving boxes. At least we'll be able to move around through all your junk!"  
  
Lizzie started to raise her hand but was stopped short by Jo's warning yell, "Don't you dare!"  
  
Groaning, Lizzie got off her balcony and slid down the handrail to the first floor where she grabbed two boxes and ran up the stairs. Just when she was out of sight, she let them go and motioned with her hand.  
  
The boxes floated up behind her, and she motioned for them to just head up themselves. Now that Lizzie was used to her strange new powers, using them seemed...routine, sort of.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a voice whisper in her head, "_Lizzie_." Lizzie swirled around, looking for the source of the voice. "_Lizzie McGuire_," the voice said again. "_I'm_ _communicating with you telepathically_."  
  
Lizzie's heart started to speed up. "_I can hear you_," she said telepathically. "_Good_," the other person said. "_My name is Jean Grey, I'm a teacher at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters; mainly, mutants. Listen to me."  
_  
"_I'm listening_," Lizzie responded, her palms clammy. "_Okay. Your parents need to enroll you in this school. Otherwise, you will be in grave danger." "How can I trust_ _you_?" Lizzie asked. "_There are two different forces, I know that much_."  
  
There was a pause, as if the person was thinking. "_Come to the school_," the person said. "_Make your parents come and see the school, just to see if you can. You'll receive directions in the mail tomorrow. If you don't believe me then, you can go your own way. But you must hurry!"  
_  
"_Why_?" Lizzie asked. "_Because the other force will soon find you. Please, do not wait very long."  
_  
And then the person stopped speaking, as if someone had just logged off in a chatroom. Slightly nervous, Lizzie continued to unpack.  
  
The next day, sure enough, the directions to the school came. "Mom, Dad," Lizzie approached them, a bit nervous. "Um, I was thinking about going to this private school, about two hours away from here?"  
  
"Lizzie," Sam said. "We are not driving you four hours each day to and from school." "No, Dad," Lizzie said. "It's a boarding school."  
  
"We can't afford it," their parents said flatly. "No, just listen!" Lizzie said, a little impatiently now. "It costs the exact same amount that public school does, only you only have to pay twice a year!"  
  
Jo and Sam looked at each other, having one of those conversations with their eyes that their kids hated so much. Lizzie tried to tap into their conversation, but couldn't.  
  
"All right," Jo said cautiously. "We'll go and look at the school. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," she read off the information packet.  
  
"We'll schedule an appointment," Sam said. "Great!" Lizzie said brightly, and skipped off to her room to try and unpack some more-but ended up talking on IM with Miranda and Gordo instead. 


	4. An IM conversation

Lizzie took a deep breath as she considered. She could tell Gordo and Miranda that...that she was what she was. Or it could be her little secret.  
  
PrettyBlondie14: (Lizzie's IM screen-name) Hey, can I tell u guys something Genius174: (Gordo's IM name) Yah whats up

HotHispanicBabe24: (Miranda's IM name) What he said

PrettyBlondie14: ok well see something happened

HotHispanicBabe24: like what r u ok

PrettyBlondie14: yah I'm fine but

Genius174: well whatever it is u can so tell us

PrettyBlondie14: gr8, cuz

HotHispanicBabe24: yah cuz we r totally supportive of anything

PrettyBlondie14: awesome cuz

Genius174: I mean, it could be anything, and u can tell us

PrettyBlondie14: GUYS!

Genius174:what

HotHispanicBabe24: what

PrettyBlondie14: could I just get a word in edgewise

HotHispanicBabe24: yah sorry go ahead

PrettyBlondie14: ok u guys arent gonna believe this but

Genius174: lizzie is it impossible 4 u 2 type a little faster

PrettyBlondie14: whatever can I continue

HotHispanicBabe24: yah ignore him hes just a genius

PrettyBlondie14: thanx anyway u arent gonna believe this but

PrettyBlondie14: c on the way here

PrettyBlondie14: some green ray hit me and things started happening

PrettyBlondie14: like, I can see the future, read minds, and move things w/ my mind

PrettyBlondie14: like I said, u probably wont believe me but I had 2 tell u

(long pause)

HotHispanicBabe24: lizzie, r u ok

Genius174: I mean, u rnt just trying 2 impress us or anything

PrettyBlondie14: NO! I mean, u don't have 2 believe me, but its seriously the truth

HotHispanicBabe24: ok ok we believe u I think right gordo

Genius174: totally

HotHispanicBabe24: ok so what am I thinking

PrettyBlondie14: that u despise knowitalls like gordo

Genius174: hey!

HotHispanicBabe24: omg! Shes right!

Genius174: u hate knowitalls?? (

HotHispanicBabe24: get over urself

Genius174: ok whatm I thinking

PrettyBlondie14: that mirandas screenname is totally braggy and suggestive

HotHispanicBabe24: IT IS NOT!

Genius174: she was right again

HotHispanicBabe24: it so is not braggy or in the least bit suggestive!

Genius174: yah whatever

HotHispanicBabe24: oh u r so gonna pay 4 that

PrettyBlondie14: can we focus

Genius174: but its scientifically impossible lizzie

PrettyBlondie14: so tell my new powers that

HotHispanicBabe24: is my screenname braggy and suggestive??

PrettyBlondie14: no

Genius174: yes

PrettyBlondie14: ignore him

PrettyBlondie14: anyway, my parents r going 2 check out a boarding school

PrettyBlondie14: ull never guess the name

HotHispanicBabe24: oh lets see HotHispanicBabe24: Boredom Boarding School

HotHispanicBabe24: ?

PrettyBlondie14: no

PrettyBlondie14: Xavier's School 4 Gifted Youngsters

PrettyBlondie14: !!!!!

Genius174: NO WAY

HotHispanicBabe24: NO WAY

PrettyBlondie14: 4 people who supposedly don't like each other that much

PrettyBlondie14: u certainly think alike

HotHispanicBabe24: in science

HotHispanicBabe24: likes repel

Genius174: amazing u actually retained something u learned

HotHispanicBabe24: shut up

HotHispanicBabe24: anyway

HotHispanicBabe24: u mean theres actually such a place??

PrettyBlondie14: yah

PrettyBlondie14: I communicated w/ jean grey in my mind

PrettyBlondie14: she said that there r some people trying to get me

PrettyBlondie14: 2 use 4 evil purposes 2 try and get 2 the school asap

Genius174: lizzie, im sorry but this is all really weird

PrettyBlondie14: understood

PrettyBlondie14: come visit the school ull c 4 urself

HotHispanicBabe24: super weird

Genius174: I g2g

Genius174: do hw

Genius174: whoopee!!

HotHispanicBabe24: cant believe u actually enjoy hw

PrettyBlondie14: lol

HotHispanicBabe24: rofl

Genius174: bye

Genius174: wait whatm I thinking

PrettyBlondie14: shut up

Genius174: ow!

Genius174: my lamp just hit me on the head

PrettyBlondie14: oops sorry

Genius174: ok im convinced

Genius174: ttyl lizzie

PrettyBlondie14: kk cya gordo

(Genius174 has signed off)

HotHispanicBabe24: wow

PrettyBlondie14: wow what

HotHispanicBabe24: just everything

HotHispanicBabe24: cant believe this is happening

PrettyBlondie14: tell me about it

PrettyBlondie14: I g2g

HotHispanicBabe24: k

PrettyBlondie14: pray that my interview the school goes ok

HotHispanicBabe24: consider it done

PrettyBlondie14: thanx

HotHispanicBabe24: lizzie

PrettyBlondie14: yah

HotHispanicBabe24: is my screenname braggy

HotHispanicBabe24: or suggestive

PrettyBlondie14: n a slight way

PrettyBlondie14: but it's a turn on not turn off

PrettyBlondie14: def. Keep it don't let gordo ruin it 4 u

HotHispanicBabe24: thanx

PrettyBlondie14: np PrettyBlondie14: cya

HotHispanicBabe24: bye

PrettyBlondie14: bye

(PrettyBlondie14 has signed off)

(HotHispanicBabe24 has signed off)  
  
A/N: Okay, this was a fun chapter to write, even though I didn't get anywhere with it. Pleasepleaseplease review!!


	5. Arriving at the School

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to upload a new chapter: I kinda fell out of the habit since it's summer!  
  
"_Lizzie_!" came a thought in Lizzie's half-conscious mind. She groaned and rolled over. "_Lizzie, wake up! You're going to be late for the interview at the school!"_ her mom ordered her.  
  
"Oh, great!" Lizzie groaned. "Now that I have telepathic powers, she can nag me all she wants and I can't slam the door on her!"  
  
"_Lizzie, GET UP_!" the thought was screamed this time. Lizzie leaped up. "I'm up!" she yelled down the stairs, clutching her head in a half-mocking, half-painful way.  
  
"Oh, God!" Lizzie gasped. "The interview's today!" In a flash, she was dressed in her favorite jeans and pink T-shirt, her make-up was applied, and her hair was done, and she zipped down the two flights of stairs and had chugged down her orange juice and choked down her bagel, and was waiting in the car.  
  
"Hurry up!" Lizzie cried, agitated. "We're gonna be late! We do have to drive two hours, you know!" "Do I have to go?" Matt whined at his parents.  
  
"We are not leaving you alone in the house for nearly the whole day," Sam said sternly. "You are going with us, no matter what." "Let me get my Gameboy and Walkman," Matt said, knowing he was beat.  
  
Just as he started to go up the stairs, his Walkman and Gameboy floated down to him and shoved themselves into his hands. "Thanks, Lizzie!" he yelled to the car. "Get in the car, you weasel!" Lizzie shouted furiously.  
  
Finally, 25 minutes later, stocked with refreshments and entertainment, the McGuire van finally pulled out of the driveway and started off to the boarding school in upper Massachusetts.  
  
About half an hour later, Lizzie got bored of watching monotonous reruns of Bewitched on the portable TV, so she decided to drop in on Miranda's thoughts and see what she was thinking. This, of course, produced a challenge for Lizzie, as she found it hard to concentrate on one particular area. It was like trying to get an old radio to get one channel instead of a variety of country, rock, jazz, and pop.  
  
She zoomed in and out of people's thoughts for a while until she found a good "frequency".  
  
"_Ugh, algebra so sucks_," Lizzie heard Miranda think. "_Why do we even have to know this stuff anyway? I mean, if I'm going to be an astronaut or a pilot, I can see why it comes in handy, but those are NOT at the top of my list of potential careers._" Lizzie grinned.  
  
"_What about Gordo_?" she wondered. Once again, she had to focus her energy on the one spot she was trying to get in touch with, but she eventually found his thoughtwaves.  
  
"_Of course_!" she heard him think. "_If a equals b and the square root of 9 is 81, then of course the answer is 1,987! I love knowing this stuff._" Lizzie grinned again. Miranda and Gordo were so different, it was funny.  
  
But eventually she got tired of eavesdropping on their thoughts and decided to fiddle around with objects she saw outside the window. She flipped her hand in circles and a mailbox slowly twirled around as its owner pulled his hand out and ran shrieking into the house.  
  
Then, she raised the roof-literally. "Lizzie!" Jo yelled at her. "Put the roof back on this car immediately!" "But, Mom, it's so stuffy in here!" Lizzie protested, her hand holding the hovering roof above the car as it jerked to a stop. "Elizabeth-"her mom started.  
  
Lizzie sighed, and lowered her hand and the roof slowly lowered itself back onto the car. "Thank you," Jo said. "And if you dare use your telekinetic powers in this car again, young lady, I will punish you so badly that you will think twice before you even raise your hand again!"  
  
"Yes, Mother," Lizzie said, and the car started going again. "Busted," Matt hissed at her. "Shut up, worm!" Lizzie hissed back.  
  
About two hours later, the McGuire family arrived at the gates, where they all stared with awe at the school. It was, Lizzie realized, exactly how the movies portrayed it. "_Name, please_?" came the abrupt thought. "_Lizzie McGuire, I'm here to see Jean Grey and Professor Xavier,_" Lizzie answered. The gates swung open, and the car drove through.  
  
Lizzie was out of the car before it stopped, staring at the school in admiration. "Man, they got it going on," she said. "Like you're actually gonna go here," Matt snorted. Lizzie shoved him. "Better not make me mad, twerp!" Lizzie growled. "If you do anything," Matt taunted, "I'll tell Mom and Dad." Lizzie controlled her urge to squeeze his throat, and settled for an aggravated groan as she stomped towards the doors.  
  
"Lizzie McGuire," said a red-haired woman, who had opened the door as Lizzie started to knock. "Welcome to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters!" Just then, Mr. and Mrs. McGuire came up, Matt in tow. "Mrs. McGuire," the woman smiled. "And Mr. McGuire! How nice of you to come. If you'll please step inside..."  
  
As the family entered the school, the red haired woman smiled at Lizzie and directed a thought at her. "_Do they know the true origins of this school_?" "_I don't think they ever saw the movies or the TV series, so no, probably not,_" Lizzie answered.  
  
The woman gave a barely perceptible nod to her and thought, "_I'll take care of it_." Out loud she said, "So, Mr. and Mrs. McGuire, would you like to hear about our academics and the student life?"  
  
"If you don't mind," Sam said, and Jo said at the same time, "Would you mind giving us your name?" "Oh, I'm sorry," the red-haired woman said apologetically. "It must have slipped my mind. I'm Jean Grey. Nice to meet you." As she shook Sam and Jo's hands, Matt's eyes widened and he darted a look at Lizzie.  
  
Lizzie nodded, and Matt started to blurt something out, so Lizzie clamped his mouth shut with her powers. He glared at her and she smiled innocently.  
  
"Well, we have several different class options for the 9th grade," Jean started off. "We have electives, such as yearbook staff, photography team, home ec., computer science, and others, and we have several different math classes, as we have discovered that many students vary in their math skills. Our basic math classes are Algebra I, Algebra II, and occasionally Pre-Algebra, if need be. Our literature classes focus on classic books such as Dante, Mark Twain, Euripedes, Homer, and others. We also have several different science classes, such as physics, chemistry, and biology, whichever the student prefers. We have one main history class for the 9th grade, and that is World Civilization. I think that covers our academics."  
  
"Wow," Jo said, a little stunned at how quickly Jean Grey had managed to cover the material so quickly. "May we meet the teachers?" "Well, first let's meet the principal, what do you say?" Jean smiled, and directed the family towards Professor Xavier's office.  
  
"_This is it_," Lizzie thought. "_I'm going to meet Professor Xavier_." 


	6. Professor Xavier and Death Threats

A/N: Okay, okay, I goofed! When I wrote Gordo's thoughts out last chapter I made a slight mistake in his math-the square root of 81 is 9, not vice versa. Forgive me, I suck at algebra.  
  
Jean Grey opened the door, and motioned for the McGuire family to enter. Lizzie walked inside, and looked at the man sitting in the swivel chair behind his desk. She caught her breath.  
  
It WAS Professor Xavier! He looked exactly like he was portrayed in the television series and the movies. Lizzie couldn't believe it.  
  
"Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. McGuire," he smiled. "Please, have a seat." They all sat down. Jean walked over to stand beside the professor. "Now, I understand you want to enroll your daughter here," he continued. "Well, we're considering it," Mr. McGuire said cautiously.  
  
The adults started talking about the payments and the academics and the student life and such boring talk, so Lizzie tuned out, and let her mind wander around the school. She flashed in and out of people's thoughts. However, one person interested her vastly.  
  
"_Ah, geez_," she heard, "_I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. Why the heck do we NEED to know about Socrates anyway? It's not like we're ever going to use this in later life. I'd much rather be beating people up, anyhow."  
_  
Just then, the person's thoughts were interrupted as Lizzie heard-or rather read-the instructions entering the person's mind.  
  
"_Rogue!"_ came the sharp rebuke. _"Pay attention! Pay attention, Rogue, pay attention, Rogue," _Rogue mimicked in a falsetto voice/thought. _"As if they can make me. This class would be vastly more interesting if Kitty, Nightcrawler, or Bobby were here."  
_  
Lizzie drew in her breath silently. She had somehow managed to tap into Rogue's thoughts! THE Rogue!  
  
Suddenly, she was aware of her parents and the professor standing up. "Thank you for coming here today," the professor said pleasantly. "Well, thank you for giving us all this information, and we will definitely consider this school," Mrs. McGuire said warmly, shaking his hand. "Come on, Lizzie," Jo said, motioning to her as Matt ran down the hall.  
  
Lizzie slowly got up and glanced at Jean. _"What do you think?"_ she asked. Jean replied, _"Don't worry. Chances are good you'll be enrolled soon. Be on your guard. I_ _can sense the enemy nearing." "Not a chance,"_ Lizzie told her telepathically. _"I won't_ _let my guard down for a second."  
_  
"Lizzie, come on!" Jo yelled from halfway down the hall. "Thanks," Lizzie smiled. "Nice to meet you, Professor Xavier." "You as well," the professor replied, a thoughtful expression on his face.  
  
As Lizzie ran down the hall, Jean asked, "What is it, Professor?" "She has a strange aura around her," the professor mused. "Could you not feel it?" Jean frowned slightly. "Now that you mention it, yes. It's as if she has a mental guard around her. I've tried tapping into her thoughts, but haven't been able to unless she tries to speak to me herself." "Yes," the professor agreed. "I did as well. She's strong. She may have what it qualifies to become...one of us." Jean nodded slightly, and said, "If you'll excuse me, professor, I have a literature class to teach."  
  
Jean left quickly and quietly, leaving the professor to ponder this mysterious girl.  
  
BACK AT THE MCGUIRE HOUSE, AROUND 11 P.M...  
  
"What do you think, Sam?" Jo asked sleepily as she turned on her side to readjust her weight on the bed. Sam stared up at the ceiling. "I think it's a good school," he replied slowly. "I think maybe we should enroll her." "I think so too," Jo replied, stifling a yawn. "Should we fill out the registration papers tomorrow or now?" "Tomorrow," Sam answered. "Okay..." Jo was asleep in seconds, leaving Sam to continue thinking about the school.  
  
LIZZIE'S ROOM...  
  
PrettyBlondie14: Hey, Miranda!  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: Hey, Lizzie! Howd the interview go  
  
PrettyBlondie14: I met the prof. Xavier, and jean grey in person. they both rock  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: awesome u think ull go  
  
PrettyBlondie14: pretty sure I read my parents thoughts and theyre gonna sign the registration papers 2morrow  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: hot dog! That so totally rox  
  
PrettyBlondie14: tell me about it I cant wait  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: is it cold up there I heard it would be  
  
PrettyBlondie14: its frosty enuf 2 wear sweaters but so far it hasn't snowed unfortunately  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: bummer  
  
PrettyBlondie14: hows gordo  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: acting totally weird lately  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: hes been like really skittish like that cat mrs. Fursk owned  
  
PrettyBlondie14: why  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: ns but im worried about him  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: I saw this letter in his backpack and he tried to hide it really fast  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: I saw the words hurt and knife  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: so im thinking maybe hes being threatened by somebody  
  
PrettyBlondie14: that's horrible! Find out more, steal a letter or something, just find out what!  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: right  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: also, hes been xtra concerned about u  
  
(pause)  
  
PrettyBlondie14: oh?  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: cant u read his mind or something  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: find out whats going on  
  
PrettyBlondie14: I can, but im not sure if I should  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: just do it  
  
(pause)  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: well  
  
PrettyBlondie14: miranda...hes been receiving threat letters...about ME! 


	7. The Continued IM Conversation

  
  
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in like forever, but I've had writer's block and I've been kinda busy.  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: That doesn't make any sense, lizzie. Shouldn't you be getting threat letters instead of gordo if indeed someone hates u  
  
PrettyBlondie14: youd think wouldn't u  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: def  
  
PrettyBlondie14: im gonna get gordo on im  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: how  
  
PrettyBlondie14: very simple  
  
PrettyBlondie14: I write on his bulletin board get on im  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: u can move objects that far away  
  
PrettyBlondie14: well see wont we  
  
(pause)  
  
PrettyBlondie14: whew!  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: what  
  
PrettyBlondie14: doing things like that; moving them so far away takes a lot of energy  
  
PrettyBlondie14: in short im already exhausted  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: ooh  
  
(Genius174 joins conversation)  
  
Genius174: hey guys  
  
PrettyBlondie14: hey gordo  
  
PrettyBlondie14: whats up w/ those threat letters  
  
Genius174: what threat letters  
  
PrettyBlondie14: gordo, I can read ur mind, remember  
  
Genius174: oh yeah  
  
Genius174: my mind lies a lot  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: gordo  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: she also has telekinetic powers u no  
  
Genius174: so  
  
(pause)  
  
Genius174: ok ok! Stop moving my personal threat letters around!  
  
PrettyBlondie14: ah ha!  
  
PrettyBlondie14: I so totally got u  
  
Genius174: fine  
  
Genius174: what do u want from me  
  
PrettyBlondie14: whats it say  
  
PrettyBlondie14: when did u get them  
  
PrettyBlondie14: who r they from  
  
Genius174: would u stop typing so fast  
  
PrettyBlondie14: sry my mind has an average of 174 letters per minute when I type  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: cheater  
  
PrettyBlondie14: and proud of it 2  
  
Genius174: so u telekinetically move the keys to form ur words  
  
PrettyBlondie14: that's right  
  
Genius174: cheater  
  
PrettyBlondie14: u agree again!  
  
PrettyBlondie14: but that's not important  
  
PrettyBlondie14: spill  
  
Genius174: -sigh- fine  
  
Genius174: the letters r threatening ur life  
  
PrettyBlondie14: so why am I not getting them  
  
Genius174: don't ask me ur the telepathic 1 here  
  
Genius174: they say that they r either gonna kill u or u can join them  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: wait  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: whos them?  
  
Genius174: beats me  
  
Genius174: anyway lizzie seems really popular w/ these people  
  
PrettyBlondie14: wait  
  
PrettyBlondie14: who signed it  
  
Genius174: um...let me check  
  
(pause)  
  
Genius174: its smudged...I think its magnetu or magneto  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: MAGNETO!!!  
  
PrettyBlondie14: MAGNETO!!!  
  
Genius174: MAGNETO!!!  
  
PrettyBlondie14: its magneto!  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: of course!  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: the bad guy who wants to overthrow the humans!  
  
Genius174: so he wants lizzie on his team  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: what r u gonna do lizzie  
  
(pause)  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: lizzie?  
  
PrettyBlondie14: I just had a vision  
  
PrettyBlondie14: gordo check ur bed  
  
Genius174: theres a letter there  
  
PrettyBlondie14: read it  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: why  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: whatd it say?  
  
PrettyBlondie14: I dunno  
  
Genius174: another threat letter  
  
Genius174: but this time  
  
Genius174: it says that if lizzie joins the xmen and goes to the school  
  
Genius174: they r coming after me and miranda  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: omg  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: I just found a letter on my desk!  
  
PrettyBlondie14: oh god  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: it says the same thing  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: lizzie what r we gonna do?????  
  
PrettyBlondie14: I...  
  
PrettyBlondie14: I just don't know  
  
PrettyBlondie14: maybe I shouldn't go 2 the school  
  
PrettyBlondie14: maybe hes serious and he'll hurt u guys  
  
Genius174: what??  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: and join the bad guys??  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: absolutely no way!  
  
Genius174: I must agree w/ miranda here  
  
Genius174: joining the bad guys is just stupid  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: well be fine  
  
PrettyBlondie14: but...what if hes serious  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: just keep checking in on us telepathically every day  
  
Genius174: if we think somebody's following us, well page u  
  
PrettyBlondie14: r u sure?  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: talk w/ jean grey about it  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: from what u told me, she seems pretty nice  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: if she thinks were in danger, shell know what 2 do  
  
PrettyBlondie14: ur probably right there  
  
Genius174: yeah def.  
  
Genius174: trust us on this 1  
  
PrettyBlondie14: ok  
  
PrettyBlondie14: ill check in on u guys every day  
  
PrettyBlondie14: leave me a thought if u need me  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: kk  
  
Genius174: sure  
  
PrettyBlondie14: I g2g  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: me 2  
  
PrettyBlondie14: cya  
  
PrettyBlondie14: b careful  
  
Genius174: u got it  
  
(PrettyBlondie14 is signed out)  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: u scared?  
  
Genius174: oh yeah  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: what should happen if 1 of us is kidnapped or hurt?  
  
Genius174: we either page lizzie telepathically or w/ pagers, and then the 1 left heads up w/ their family 2 the school  
  
Genius174: ok?  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: ok  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: im really scared gordo  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: despite what I told lizzie  
  
Genius174: same  
  
Genius174: we should get off  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: yeah  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: sleep would do us good  
  
Genius174: I think ill be locking my door and windows 2night  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: ditto  
  
Genius174: well  
  
Genius174: bye  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: bye  
  
(Genius174 has signed out)  
  
HotHispanicBabe24: I am alone 


	8. A Rooftop Fight

A/N: Nothing to say.

Lizzie woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. It was a gorgeous New England day, everything was right with the world...until she remembered last night's conversation. Then everything was back to its dismal state.

She sighed and waved her hand, floating out of bed. This took a little more concentration, but she figured as long as she practiced, the better she would get at it.

She grabbed her latest _Seventeen _magazine and read it while floating herself down the stairs. "Morning, Mom," she said absently to her Jo, who was cooking breakfast. "Morning, Lizzie," Jo answered back in the same tone. Lizzie hovered a few feet off the ground before setting herself down.

"Come get your breakfast," Jo said to her. Lizzie started to motion towards her plate before her mother said, "Don't even think it. In this house, young lady, we are going to do things the old-fashioned way. Your father and I have no problem with you being psychic and telepathic and whatever else, but you are not going to get lazy."

Lizzie sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mother," she said. "I know."

"Also," Jo continued as Lizzie manually got her plate, "your father and I have decided to let you go to the school. You can always come home on the weekends, and...and..."

Lizzie noticed uneasily that her mother was getting teary-eyed. "And...we can always come visit," Jo said, wiping a tear away.

"Oh, thank you so much Mom!" Lizzie exclaimed, hugging Jo tightly. "Oh..." Jo smiled, composing herself. "You're welcome, sweetie. You'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon, and start school day after tomorrow."

"You guys are the best!" Lizzie gushed, running upstairs and then floating up once she was out of Jo's eyesight.

"Oh!" Jo wailed, and plopped down on a chair and cried her eyes out once her daughter was out of earshot.

LATER THAT DAY...

Lizzie was manually packing her suitcases since Jo had warned her that if she did anything telekinetically she would be punished (mothers!), and thinking. She would miss this room, Lizzie thought with regret as she dropped a stack of magazines inside a case. It had a nice view. And she liked it a lot. She wondered if her room at the school would be nice as well.

Also, Lizzie thought with a heavy sigh, she would miss her parents. As annoying as they could be, she still loved them-a lot. Now Matt-that was a totally different story. Leaving Matt behind would be the greatest thing that ever happened to her.

Grinning, Lizzie let a handful of lip gloss and eyeliners drop into a bag. Aside from a few drawbacks, going to a boarding school was gonna be a totally great experience.

Just then, she received a telepathic message. "_Lizzie!" _came the insistent call. She responded instantly, recognizing the voice as Jean's. "_Yes, what is it?" _she asked. "_The professor says you need to come to the school ASAP," _Jean replied. "_He had an...intuition, of sorts. Something horrible is going to happen unless you get down here, stat." "I needed to talk to you about that," _Lizzie said. "_My two friends back home, Miranda Sanchez and David Gordon, have been receiving threats from Magneto, saying that if I go to the school and join the X-Men, something bad is gonna happen to them. I'm really worried about them." _There was a pause. "_I'll keep an eye on them," _Jean finally replied. "_If I think they need help, we'll go get them. Now come to the school, fast!" "We're going tomorrow afternoon!" _Lizzie answered. Another pause. "_Not soon enough," _Jean said firmly. "_Get here NOW!" _Then she was silent.

One thing Lizzie knew from watching the movies and TV series was not to fool around with Jean Grey. She threw her laptop and clothes into her last suitcase, zipped them up, grabbed her pillow and favorite blanket and of course, Mr. Snuggles, and motioned them all to follow her down the stairs. As she floated at top speed down the cases of stairs, she noticed that the sky was getting dark. "It's only 3 o'clock!" she realized. "This cannot be normal."

As she arrived downstairs, Jo looked up in frustration. "Lizzie, I told you-"she began, but stopped when she saw Lizzie's tense face. "What is it?" she asked. "I got a message from Jean Grey," Lizzie said. "We have to get to the school now!"

"Why?" Jo asked helplessly as Lizzie threw the door open, and put all her things inside the van, then slammed the doors. "Trust me, Mom!" Lizzie shouted. "It's top urgency!"

Jo stood uncertain for a moment, then grabbed the car keys and raced out. "I'm trusting you on this, Lizzie," she warned her. "If you're pulling my leg, you will get it." The McGuire women leaped in the car, and in seconds were driving down the highway. "My, it's getting dark," Mrs. McGuire said. "Looks like a storm." Suddenly, Lizzie felt a chill run down her spine.

On impulse, she telekinetically locked the doors and sealed the windows. "Lizzie, what are you doing?" Jo asked incredulously. Lizzie didn't bother to answer as she placed her hands on either side of the van (as she was in the back), and telekinetically held them closed. "Hold on, Mom," Lizzie said. "Something's bound to happen any moment."

A second later, Jo screamed, and pointed to the sky. "Lizzie! Look!" she screamed. Lizzie looked and immediately wished she hadn't. A man in a flowing black cape was hovering in the sky, suspended by a piece of metal that was steadily floating towards the van.

"Drive, Mom!" Lizzie screamed, feeling petrified. Jo punched the accelerator, and the van screeched forward, zipping in between cars and trucks, avoiding collisions only by Lizzie's powers, which were growing steadily weaker.

And still Magneto grew closer. Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her mental grip on the van, knowing that any second there would be a fight between powers. One moment, Lizzie was holding her grip. The next, she felt a rip in her mind. She screamed with pain, knowing that Magneto was pulling at the metal, trying to make it give. Yet still she held tightly. But finally, she lost the battle and the car door was ripped open.

Jo screamed, swerving. "Drive, Mom, drive!" Lizzie screamed, aware that if they stopped, it would only make it easier for Magneto to drag her away.

Lizzie lifted the roof of the van, floated up, and placed it gently back on. There she floated in the air, one foot slightly raised behind her, the other straight, like she had seen Jean in the movie. _Jean!_

Immediately, Lizzie sent a telepathic message to her and the professor. "_Magneto has me and my mom trapped on the highway. Here are the coordinates: please send help quickly!" _she implored, then blocked any replies so that she could focus her energy on Magneto. "Lizzie!" Jo screamed. "Get in!" But Lizzie didn't hear her as Magneto floated up on his metal to her height.

"Come with me," he invited her. "You know." And he stretched his hand out to her. Lizzie laughed. That was all he needed to hear. "You will come with me!" he shouted, and reached for her. But Lizzie merely lifted a hand, her eyes determined, a slight smile on her face, and he stopped, slightly quivering as Lizzie held him at bay. "Ah," he smiled. "But your foolish tricks cannot stop me." "How could you possibly think that I would be that weak?" Lizzie asked. "I'm hurt!" She smiled mockingly.

Inside, she prayed that she could hold off until help arrived. Magneto broke free of her grasp, and swung at her. Lizzie was caught unawares, and was thrown to a side of the car. As she looked up, wind blowing her hair around, Lizzie realized that he was stronger than she had originally thought.

She floated up, and her eyes blazed. "Leave my friends out of this!" she screamed at him. It was the only way for him to hear her, as they were passing huge trucks along the way. Magneto laughed at her.

Lizzie struck out at him, and he blocked easily. Lizzie's eyes widened. "You shall come with me!" Magneto growled, and grabbed her wrist. Lizzie wrenched away, and held out a quavering hand, her strength dissipitating, trying to stop him from advancing any farther. Suddenly, she felt a flood of strength, and realized what was happening. Jean was pouring her own strength into Lizzie's.

Lizzie straightened, and held her palm out, effectively holding Magneto at bay. But she hadn't bargained for interference. Someone grabbed her from behind. Lizzie glanced at the arms that held her. They were blue. Mystique. Lizzie stared straight ahead and fought for composure to keep Magneto at bay, and trying to find some way to get Mystique off.

She found it. With a huge push with her mind, Mystique was thrown off her. However, the extra concentration and shove tore at Lizzie's mind as a knife would with skin. It was agonizing. Lizzie let out an inhuman scream, and clutched at her head, trying through the dizzying pain to hold Magneto in place. She failed. Through the red that was coloring her eyes, she saw Magneto straighten and advance towards her.

She felt, rather than saw, Mystique turn into an eagle and save herself from the traffic below the van. "LIZZIE!" Jo screamed, who could sense her pain.

Lizzie stumbled, and Magneto grabbed her arm in an iron grip. Through the blood that was dripping from her forehead, where the pain in her mental energy had transformed to real injury, Lizzie could see a small black form in the sky, racing towards them.

"No!" Magneto growled, and, assuming that Lizzie was too weak to escape him, loosened his grip on her arm. He assumed wrong. Finding some strength within her, Lizzie rammed her head back, into his chin. She heard something crunch and break, and Magneto let her go to cradle his broken jaw. She collapsed, just too weak to get up and too weak to use her skills, but not too weak to go unconscious.

Out of the black jet, Jean, Scott, and Storm leaped out and onto the van. Lizzie closed her eyes weakly during the ensuing battle between the X-Men and Magneto, Mystique, Toad, and Sabertooth, the last two having arrived a few moments earlier.

She opened her eyes a few moments later, and accepted Scott's hand up. However, her knees buckled, and he caught her before she fell. "Jean!" he said. Jean moved Jo out of the van and up to the roof. "Are you crazy?!" Jo screamed at them. "We'll crash!" Then she caught sight of Lizzie. "Lizzie!" she gasped. Jean telekinetically moved them all up to the jet, where Jo rushed to Lizzie's side, sobbing.

Lizzie then fell into unconsciousness, but not before she saw Magneto's ship blast off into the air, and then fade.

A/N: I know this was a little unrealistic, but I've been looking forward to this chapter for a looong while! I've always wanted to have Lizzie fight Magneto. I maybe overdid it...oh well, please don't flame! You can't expect everything to be perfect, after all! Also, I probably used too much screaming and shouting...but again, oh well. pleasepleasepleaseplease no flames!


	9. Miranda

Lizzie slowly awoke, her vision at first hazy, but then cleared a bit. Jo appeared before her eyes. "Lizzie?" she asked. "Mom," Lizzie exclaimed. "There are two of you!" "Oh, thank God," Jo cried out.

"Hey, Lizzie," Sam smiled, coming to stand beside her bed. Lizzie glanced up in surprise. "Dad, what are you doing here?" she asked. Just then there was a crash, a cat's meow, and footsteps outside the hallway. Matt rushed inside and slammed the door closed, then threw himself under the bed.

"What did you break this time, worm?" Lizzie asked. "A Ming vase," Matt's muffled voice answered. "Not that it would concern you, ugly." "She's better," their parents said in unison. Just then, Matt floated out from under the bed as Jean entered the room holding the pieces of a vase in her hands.

Matt cleared his throat and looked down. Jean didn't look angry, merely annoyed. "Your son will have to pay for this," she said to Lizzie's parents. "Oh, yes," Jo answered, glaring at him. "He won't be receiving allowance for the rest of his natural life." "Also..." Jean said, "our cat, Buttons, isn't very happy with him."

Just then she saw Lizzie and smiled warmly. "Lizzie!" she said. "So glad you're back from dreamland." "What are Dad and Matt doing here?" Lizzie asked her straightforward. "Well, we figured that Magneto would probably head for your house next, so we sent the jet for them, just in case," Jean explained. "What about Miranda and Gordo?" Lizzie asked. "Are they here, too?"

"We're keeping a close eye on them," Jean answered. "That's not enough!" Lizzie protested, sitting up, then grabbing her head and sinking into the pillows again with a groan. "Yes, using your powers will do that to you," Jean said. "You nearly sucked your own life force." "How is that even possible?" Lizzie asked skeptically. "Believe me," Jean said, "if you have the ability to use your powers, you can certainly use your own life force to back it up. It's a very dangerous thing."

"Whatever," Lizzie said crossly, her head pounding too hard for her to really care. "Can I please have my laptop? Oh, and where am I?" "You're in your room," Jean said. "You'll be sharing a room with two room-mates, who are in classes currently." "Are they just students, or should I know more about them?" Lizzie asked suspiciously.

Jean laughed softly. "They are both X-Men. You might be familiar with them." Lizzie's heart caught in her throat. "Do not say Rogue and Shadowcat," she breathed. Jean laughed again. "You probed my brain," she accused. Lizzie squealed, then instantly regretted it. "I so did not!" she retorted. "But...I'm sharing a room with two of the X-Men! This is amazing, spectacular!"

"Excuse me," Sam interrupted, with a perturbed look on his face. "Are you saying that our daughter might be an X-Man?"

"Wherever did you get that idea?" Jean asked him. "She possibly could. If her powers are strong enough, if she's smart enough, and if she accepts the offer." "Um, hello!" Lizzie shouted. "Why on earth would I say no?"

"Well, that part is solved," Jean laughed again. "Could I PLEASE have my laptop?" Lizzie whined. "Today's a holiday for Miranda and Gordo, and I want to IM them and see if they're okay."

"Surely," Jo answered. She brought out Lizzie's laptop, which, amazingly, was unharmed by the excitement that had occurred yesterday.

"Thanks," Lizzie said gratefully. "See you guys later." "I think we were dismissed," Jo murmured to Sam as Lizzie's laptop dinged a 'hello' to her. "Love you much," Lizzie said absently, and waved her parents and brother out of the room. "Heal fast, Lizzie," Jean said and left.

Lizzie signed on and was relieved to see that both Miranda and Gordo were online. Almost immediately, the two IM-ed her separately, so she started a whiteboard with them.

PrettyBlondie14: hey u guys r u ok

HotHispanicBabe24: were fine u?

Genius174: yeah what she said

PrettyBlondie14: um...well...

Genius174: what do u mean by that lizzie

Genius174: I don't trust u what happened yesterday?

PrettyBlondie14: Jean told me to head straight 4 the school b/c danger was closing n, so we did, and magneto landed atop our car and so I fought him and nearly lost my life and now my whole family is the school, and I'm freaking out b/c already matt broke a ming vase worth like a thousand dollars, and I'm sharing a room w/ rogue and kitty!!

(pause)

HotHispanicBabe24: Um...wow

HotHispanicBabe24: and this happened how again?

PrettyBlondie14: read my pretty pink font: I fought magneto, I won, la-dee-dah end of story

Genius174: okay okay no need to get testy w/ her

HotHispanicBabe24: yeah

HotHispanicBabe24: we have news 2

PrettyBlondie14: oh yeah? What?

Genius174: we just now noticed that some one is trailing us school, as we walk home from school, when we hang the digital bean, and its getting creepy

PrettyBlondie14: did u get a good look him?

HotHispanicBabe24: no

HotHispanicBabe24: we only see him out of the corner of our eye, but when we look, hes gone

HotHispanicBabe24: its really weird

Genius174: more like super creepy

Genius174: plus, I think my house is being watched

PrettyBlondie14: maybe youre just paranoid?

HotHispanicBabe24: maybe

HotHispanicBabe24: but considering the circumstances, it doesn't seem likely

PrettyBlondie14: true

Genius174: so r u gonna join the xmen?

PrettyBlondie14: if they ask me definitely

HotHispanicBabe24: they havent yet?

PrettyBlondie14: nope

PrettyBlondie14: jean said something about having 2 c how strong ur powers r and if ur smart enuf and junk like that

(HotHispanicBabe24 logged off)

PrettyBlondie14: what? Miranda, why did u log off? R u blocking us?

Genius174: that is not like miranda she never logs off w/out giving warning

PrettyBlondie14: CALL HER!! SOMETIHNG MIGHT BE WRONG!!!

Genius174: im calling

(pause)

Genius174: her phones dead

PrettyBlondie14: oh my god

PrettyBlondie14: r u sure its just busy?

Genius174: who else would she b talking 2?

PrettyBlondie14: good point

PrettyBlondie14: keep trying

Suddenly, a scream broke through Lizzie's thoughts, a scream that was so gut-wrenching and agonizing that it sent shivers down Lizzie's spine: "LIZZIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It was Miranda's voice.


	10. A Victory For a Defeat

PrettyBlondie14: omg! Gordo! Miranda's hurt, or needs us or something...I heard her scream, we have 2 help her, what should we do???????????

Genius174: r u sure it was miranda

PrettyBlondie14: GORDO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Genius174: well, what should I do???

Genius174: what if im next????

PrettyBlondie14: come 2 the school like YESTERDAY!!

Genius174: how?

Genius174: u said urself on im that u couldn't outrun them so whats the point?

(pause)

PrettyBlondie14: I DON'T KNOW!!! I JUST DON'T WANT U 2 GET HURT!!!

Genius174: lizzie! Hurry up, I am not interested in being killed!!

PrettyBlondie14: okay, just chill 4 a sec

Genius174: !!!!!

PrettyBlondie14: just stay there im coming 2 get u

Genius174: and how would u suggest doing that

PrettyBlondie14: um...don't worry, I just will

PrettyBlondie14: if im not there within an hour, start coming to the school

Genius174: kk

Genius174: u had better hurry

PrettyBlondie14: I will bye

Genius174: bye

(PrettyBlondie14 logged off)

(Genius174 logged off)

Lizzie slammed her laptop shut, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She knew that Jean had leant her her powers, which meant that Lizzie could probably do it as well. How was the question. She knew that Jean, Storm, and Scott both knew how to fly a jet. So, all she had to do was tap into one of their minds and get the information she needed. She crossed Scott off her list. She was mildly intimidated by him, for which reason she knew not why.

Storm...Well, she didn't actually know Storm, and didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with her. Jean would understand, she told herself, and started searching the school for Jean.

She flickered in and out of several different people, including Scott, where she panicked and scrambled to get out before he detected her. Finally, though, she reached Jean. She paused for a moment, trying to find out if Jean was aware of her. She wasn't. "Probably sleeping," Lizzie said to herself. She took another deep breath, and hesitantly looked around Jean's mind.

She looked around for a while until she found what she needed. She smiled. Lizzie, still not quite sure how to transfer other people's information to her own, stopped for a while, and mentally pulled at it. The information she needed was now her own, while Jean still had it as well. Lizzie silently rejoiced.

She was about to withdraw, but suddenly realized she had no idea where the jet was. She groaned, and dug around again, this time a little carelessly. Just as she found it, she realized that Jean was aware that someone was digging around. She grabbed the information and stopped telepathically searching her.

Lizzie took a few moments to remember everything she had stolen from Jean, and then realized with another groan she was still disabled. She closed her eyes, already weak from using her telepathy powers, and wearily set off to find someone who could spare energy.

She found him. Seconds later, she was aware that Scott was feeling a little dizzy and weaker than he had before, but now, having only had to drain him of a small amount, she was stronger than she had been in days. She telepathically sent him a message: "_Sorry," _she said. "_It's an emergency-once everything is over with, I promise I'll reimburse you._"

Lizzie scrambled out of her bed, and ran down the halls, past students who were giggling and playing hand-held video games, or just using their powers. Once Lizzie ran into a force-field wall. The user laughed. Lizzie growled at him, stood up and shouted telepathically at him at the top of her lungs: "_GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!!" _The boy clutched his ears, and let the force-field fall, so Lizzie continued on her way.

Finally, Lizzie reached the staircase to the lower levels. She ran down the steps, her heart pounding in her ears not only from exertion but also from fear. She checked her watch. She only had half an hour to reach Gordo.

Suddenly, she heard a laugh. She glanced wildly around the stairwell. Then, she realized it was only Magneto in her mind. "_You think you can outrun me?_" he laughed. "_Reach your little friend before I will? Fool!_" Lizzie squeezed her eyes closed, and tried a new technique: blocking. She scrambled around in her own mind as Magneto taunted her until she found a small button. She pressed it, and Magneto's voice was silent.

Forgetting herself, Lizzie laughed out loud. It was almost like blocking somebody on IM. "_Lizzie!_" came Jean's frantic voice. "_Lizzie, you don't know what you're doing! You can't possibly do this with successful results without at least someone to back you up!_" "_This is my battle,_" Lizzie shot back at her. "_It's my friend, and I have to do this._" "_Lizzie, do not think you can beat the bad guy on your own,_" Jean warned her. "_You can't. This isn't the movies! This is real life, and you need someone to watch your back!_" Lizzie was silent for a while. Then she finally said, "_Send Shadowcat._" There was a pause, and Jean said in disbelief, "_What?_" "_Send Shadowcat!_" Lizzie repeated impatiently. "_I'll work with her. If you try and stop me, I'll...I'll go by myself. Your decision._" There was silence again. Finally Jean sighed and answered, "_Fine. But be careful._" "_What gave you the impression that I wouldn't be?_" Lizzie asked indignantly. There wasn't an answer.

Lizzie reached the lower levels, and looked around. She groaned inwardly. There was a handprint scan. She glanced around wildly for another way. There was none. She slumped against the wall, head in her hands. A dead end. Gordo was as good as dead, just like Miranda.

Suddenly, the door whisked open. Lizzie's head shot up, and saw Shadowcat's smiling face. "Let me get that for you," she quipped. Lizzie grinned, and accepted Shadowcat's hand up. "Lizzie," she said, holding out her hand. Shadowcat accepted the handshake and acknowledged, "Shadowcat, or Kitty during school hours." Shadowcat's smile turned into a quizzical frown. "But why did you choose me? I really can't do that much." "It'll be enough," Lizzie encouraged her. "All I have is telepathy and telekinetic powers. Besides, I wanted to work with someone my age."

Shadowcat laughed. "Cool," she said. "I have too. I hope you can join the X-Men. I like you already. Plus, we only have three teenagers. Me, Rogue, and Nightcrawler. By the way, what are we doing?"

They were rapidly walking to the jet. "Rescuing my friend," Lizzie answered her. "Magneto threatened to hurt him and my other best friend if I joined the school or became an X-Man. Now Miranda is gone to I-don't-know-where and Gordo is next."

They clambered up into the jet, and Lizzie flicked several buttons and switches and the door opened up so that they could see the sky. "How do you know how to fly a jet, especially this one?" Shadowcat asked as they buckled themselves in. Lizzie paused, and swiveled around in the chair. "I, um...that is to say," she balked. "I kind of stole information."

"It's okay, you can trust me!" Shadowcat encouraged her. "I won't tell a soul!" Lizzie sighed, and answered as the jet rumbled to life, "I stole information from Jean-telepathically. And while we're at it, I drained Scott of his powers for a few minutes so that I had strength."

"Wow," Shadowcat said as the jet shot off into the air. "Yeah, wow," Lizzie said sarcastically, suddenly feeling like she had to be defensive. "Hey, Liz!" Shadowcat said. "It's fine! I've done some pretty bad things too. And this is only a minor offense...you'll probably only have detention for a weekend or something."

"How can you have detention on a weekend?" Lizzie wondered. "You just have to stay in your room and do extra homework," Shadowcat answered. "But since this was a good cause, you might get off easier." "Oh," Lizzie said awkwardly. There was a silence for a while, and then Shadowcat said, "What's your name?" Lizzie glanced back with a hesitant smile. "Um...Lizzie," she laughed. "Remember?" "I mean your X-Man name," Shadowcat said.

"Oh. Well, since I haven't joined the X-Men I don't have one," Lizzie answered. "You should come up with one," Shadowcat persisted. "Well-"Lizzie started, and then gasped. "Oh, thank God! It's Gordo's house!" Then, "Wow, that was fast!" "Yup," Shadowcat said cheerfully. "This thing can go really fast when it wants to, or when it senses that it needs to go fast." "Are you saying it's alive?" Lizzie asked skeptically.

"Well..." Shadowcat said, but just then gasped and pointed out the window. Lizzie whipped around and saw Magneto's plane in the distance. "Let's go!" Shadowcat barked in a voice that Lizzie hadn't heard her use before.

The jet landed on the lawn, and Lizzie jumped out of it and to Gordo's house. "Gordo!" she shouted through the wooden door. "Let's go!" There was a scuffling and the door opened, showing Gordo's white face, and his parents' even whiter faces. "Let's go NOW!!" Lizzie ordered. The four hurried to the jet, and Mrs. Gordon gasped as she saw the spider-like jet looming closer.

"Get IN!!" Lizzie cried frantically. She could feel her pulse speed up, and sweat on her brow. She was NOT interested in seeing Magneto again. Finally, they were all inside. "Now, back to the school," Lizzie said. "NO!" Shadowcat cried out. Lizzie glanced at her in alarm. "WHAT?" she shouted. "WHY?" "He can't know where we are!" Shadowcat explained, her voice tense. "It would be destruction!"

"Well, I don't want to fight him!" Lizzie argued, feeling tears gathering in her eyes out of stress and fear. "What do we do?" "Well, do SOMETHING besides argue!" Gordo shouted at them.

"QUIET!" Shadowcat and Lizzie shouted at him. Just then, the jet landed. Mrs. Gordon sobbed. Shadowcat looked Lizzie in the eye, and Lizzie stared back into Shadowcat's dark green eyes. "We fight them," she said firmly. "If we can only put them back for a few minutes, we can escape quickly." Lizzie nodded.

They both leaped out of the jet, and locked the doors. Magneto's powers only opened them again. Mrs. Gordon's terrified scream split the air as the rivals stared each other in the face, Lizzie at Magneto, Shadowcat at Mystique. "What happened to your toad?" Shadowcat asked. "Did you dissect him? Or did his tongue get himself into a sticky situation?"

"That is no concern of yours," Magneto growled. Lizzie swallowed her fear, and stood tall. "What did you do with Miranda?" she asked him. Magneto laughed. "She is with me," he answered. "I didn't know you went for younger women," Lizzie shot back, amazed at her bravery.

Lizzie smiled at his silence, and broke the unspoken truce by raising her hand, bringing Magneto with it. Her hand shook with the effort as Magneto used his own powers to hold himself down by the jet, but finally she prevailed. Magneto hovered in the air for a moment, and then crashed into the Gordons' house. He was instantly up. Lizzie spared only a glance at Shadowcat, who was fighting with Mystique-and winning.

Lizzie grinned, and telepathically whispered to Shadowcat, who was wrestling Mystique to the ground: "_Get the jet ready._" Shadowcat risked a worried glance at Lizzie who nodded, and she vanished into the side of the jet.

Lizzie held both Mystique and Magneto at bay, and sweat trickled into her eyes with the effort. "You cannot win," Mystique hissed at her. "He said that before," Lizzie answered. "I won." As the jet started with a roar, Lizzie stepped back, and let go while at the same moment _shoving _them, and they slammed into each other. Lizzie ran to the jet, closed the doors, and mentally held them shut while getting the jet into the air. They blasted off, and Lizzie looked back. The two were merely standing, looking at the jet as it flew into the distance.

"We won," Shadowcat said with relief. Then she laughed and hugged Lizzie. "We did it! We, only two teenage mutants, beat two grown mutants! Can you believe it??" Lizzie laughed, and put her hand on one of Shadowcat's. "We did!" she said in disbelief. "We actually beat them!" Lizzie mentally steered the plane, leaped up, and hugged Shadowcat. They jumped around in victory, laughing themselves silly.

"After this," Shadowcat said, taking a deep breath to calm herself, "they'll HAVE to let you into the X-Men." Lizzie laughed again.

They had won. But one victory did not compensate for a defeat they had already suffered. Could they change it in time to save Miranda?

A/N: Whew! I really got into this chapter! It's probably the longest I've typed...well, I enjoyed it. Please R and R, cause nobody 'cept Romulan Empress is! Many thanks to you, Val!


	11. A Pointless Chapter

A/N: -whimpers- No reviewers!! –sobs- Pwease review!! Pwease?

The jet landed at the school, and Lizzie leaned back in the chair and heaved a sigh of relief. Now she knew what she had to do, before anyone came back in. She leaped up and hugged Gordo, breathing hard, trying to control sobs. The surprising thing was, he hugged her back.

"I'm so glad I got to you!" Lizzie said into his shoulder. He didn't answer, just patted her back. She pulled away and smiled weakly. He smiled back. "I missed you," he said. "I missed you, too," Lizzie answered truthfully.

They didn't notice as the Gordons and Shadowcat exited the jet. "Think we can save Miranda?" Gordo asked grimly. Lizzie snapped back to reality, away from her imaginings, and answered, "I don't know. Hopefully. Saving you was a victory, really, that I didn't expect to win."

"And yet you did," Gordo said. "Yes, I did," Lizzie said proudly. She laughed, and then drew in another breath. "Ooh. I forgot. I have to compensate someone." She closed her eyes, and sent the information she had stolen flowing back to Jean, and finally, returned Scott's borrowed strength to him.

As a result, however, Lizzie fell to the floor, weak once more, and breathing heavily. "Lizzie!" Gordo said in alarm, falling beside her and trying to help her up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm...I'm fine," Lizzie answered, her head spinning. "I had to borrow strength and...well, you don't need to know." Jean, Scott, and Professor Xavier came into the hangar, and Lizzie groaned, knowing that she was in serious trouble.

"Young lady," Jean said sternly to her. "What you did was wrong." "And dangerous," Scott put in. "And it's against the rules to steal information or powers, even for a while," Jean added. But finally the professor spoke to a sincerely humbled Lizzie. "But..." he said. Then he smiled. "Good job."

Lizzie stared at them for a while, and then giggled. She couldn't help it. It was just so hilarious...she had never really expected to actually become a part of the school, and beating Mystique and Magneto...it was a little too much to comprehend. "Thank you," she managed to choke out, and then blacked out from exhaustion.

..................LATER..........................

Lizzie awoke later, her head feeling a little hazy, and her brain fuzzy. The first sight she saw when she fluttered her eyes open were her concerned parents. "Oh, Lizzie!" Jo sobbed, throwing her arms around Lizzie. "Oof!" Lizzie groaned in slight pain as her mother hit a sensitive spot.

Then, Jo straightened up and shouted, "How dare you, Elizabeth Brooke McGuire!" "Gordo was-"Lizzie started, but then Sam started in on her: "You will never, I repeat, never do that again!" "But-" Lizzie protested. "The whole reason we enrolled you here was because we thought it was a safe school, and-""Silence!" Lizzie shouted, sealing their mouths shut telekinetically, and then groaning from the shouts.

"Like it or not, you have to accept that I am different," Lizzie told them. "I have powers, and I need to learn how to use them for good. If we get me out of here, and go back to our house, then Magneto will know where to find me, and I'm as good as dead! I only went out because Gordo needed me, and I wasn't about to let something happen to him, like it did to Miranda...Anyway, if I do join the X-Men, live with it! It's for good, and I am strong enough to do it."

She yawned, and said, "Good night." She ushered her parents out the door, and locked it shut before falling asleep once more.

..........................LATER...................................

She awoke several hours later to see Shadowcat sitting on the edge of her bed, staring into space with a strange look on her face, just swinging her foot. She glanced over to see Lizzie looking at her quizzically, and the look vanished as she smiled.

"Heya!" she chirped, crawling over to where Lizzie lay motionless on the pillows. "How'd you get in here? I locked the door," Lizzie said. Then she smiled. "Ooh, right. You can go through things." "Yup!" Shadowcat answered, flashing another smile.

"Gordo's been worried about you," she said. "So have Jean and Scott, and your parents." "Why?" Lizzie wondered. "Because..." Shadowcat said, with mild surprise. "You've been asleep for four days, but have kept your mental lock on tight. So, I would bring others in and we would constantly check on you. When Jean tried to probe your mind, it was like she hit a mental wall. She was thrown clear off the bed. Let me tell you," she laughed, "she won't be poking around in there again anytime soon. She nearly slammed into the wall!"

Lizzie laughed as well. "I didn't know I could do that," she said in wonder. "Can you get up?" Shadowcat asked. "Yeah," Lizzie nodded. She slowly stood, wobbled a bit, but then strode purposefully across the room and spun around with a look of triumph on her face. "Aw right!" she cheered. "I can totally walk again!" Shadowcat laughed and clapped her hands. "Hey, you wanna do something, Shadowcat?" Lizzie asked.

"Oh..." Shadowcat twisted her hands in the blankets. "That's another thing. My name is Kitty in the school, and Shadowcat on a mission. Try and remember." "Okay," Lizzie nodded, and threw open the curtains of her window.

Sunlight streamed in and blinded her momentarily. She caught her breath as she gazed out over the school grounds. "It's a great school," she commented. "Yeah, I know," Kitty said.

"Do we ever get to go home to our parents?" Lizzie asked. Kitty cast her eyes down. "Yeah, if you've got 'em," she answered. "What do you mean?" Lizzie asked. "A lot of the kids here are runaways," Kitty answered her. "They ran away because they were afraid of their powers, or because they were forced by their parents."

"You mean..." Lizzie said, horrified. Kitty nodded emphatically. "Yes. Their parents kicked them out because **_they _**were afraid of their kids. So, Professor Xavier eventually found them. The few times we haven't gotten to them in times ended in catastrophe. Like Toad and Sabertooth."

"Oh." Lizzie said awkwardly. "Oh!" Kitty snapped her fingers. "The professor wants to see you by the way. He said as soon as you woke up. So, let's go!" she said cheerfully.

"All right," Lizzie sighed, dreading the meeting. "Will he be too harsh?" she asked meekly as they stepped outside. Kitty shrugged her shoulders. "The professor always surprises you," she said evasively.

..........................IN THE PROFESSOR'S OFFICE.........................

Lizzie sat with her hands folded in her lap, studying an invisible dust bunny with her undivided attention. The professor gazed at her, and Lizzie could feel slight pinpricks in her mind. Despite everything, her instincts were stronger than her will, having been through a lot, and they shoved him out. The professor's wheelchair rolled back several feet as if he had been violently shoved.

"Oh!" Lizzie cried with horror, leaping up to help him regain his balance as the chair started to tip over. "I'm...I'm sorry!" she cried, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

"No, no," the professor answered awkwardly, motioning for her to sit down again. "I didn't realize you were so strong. You are, perhaps, stronger than I," he murmured, more to himself than her.

Then he stared her in the eye. Lizzie stared back, a bit nervously. "What you did was against regulations, you understand," he said presently. Lizzie nodded her head humbly. "But you had the right motives," he continued. "Which means, I suppose, that you will stop at nothing to save someone your heart dearly loves. Am I correct in that assumption?" "I...I don't know," Lizzie answered. "I guess."

"Do you hate the humans?" he asked suddenly. Lizzie's head shot up at the strange question. "No!" she answered quickly. "My parents, brother, and best friends are humans. How could I hate them?"

The professor nodded, as if adding something to memory. "So...you love them, then?" he continued with the interrogation.

Lizzie blinked. "Well, if the opposite of hate is love, then yes, I love the humans," she answered truthfully. The professor nodded once more, thinking. "Thank you, Lizzie," he said abruptly. "That will be all." "That's...that's it?" Lizzie cried in astonishment, eyes wide. "No punishment?" The professor raised his eyebrows at her. "Would you like me too?" he asked dryly.

"No, no," Lizzie said quickly. "I mean...well...thank you, Professor," she mumbled, and quickly exited his study.

Kitty was waiting for her outside. "How did it go?" she asked. Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. "Well, he didn't give me a punishment, but it was almost like...like he was giving me an examination," she said, puzzled.

"Hmm," Kitty said. "That's curious, isn't it?" Lizzie nodded. "Can I go see Gordo?" she asked. "He's in class," Kitty said. "What?" Lizzie asked. "Well, since he can't go to his regular school, he still needs to keep up his grades, so he's learning here," Kitty explained. "Oh," Lizzie said. "Should we go to class?" "No," Kitty answered. "We have the day off. What do you want to do?"

"Anything!" Lizzie answered eagerly. "Show me the school!" "Okay," Kitty said, and they headed off to see the school.

A/N: Interesting chapter to write. My fingers hurt. Agh! Please review.


	12. Lizzie Joins the XMen

A/N: I'd appreciate some reviews, here, people-maybe I should just close this story down! Thanks to my single, very faithful reviewer, Romulan Empress. You totally rock!

Kitty had shown Lizzie around the school, and which classrooms were which ones, et cetera, and then they went outside so that Kitty could show her the grounds. Finally, however, school was out, and she could finally see Gordo.

Lizzie first saw him when he came outside, blinking in the harsh sun. "Hey, Gordo!" Lizzie waved to him. He waved back and came over to where the two girls stood. "Hey, you finally woke up!" Gordo greeted her.

"Yeah," Lizzie said. "How've you been doing?" "Okay," Gordo said in that lofty way that Lizzie knew meant something was obviously wrong. "Don't lie to someone who has psychic abilities, Gordo," Kitty laughed. Lizzie was already probing his mind, and Gordo knew it.

"Ooh," Lizzie moaned. "Yeah," Gordo said. "They seem to enjoy picking me up with their minds and twirling me around." "So, tell 'em to put it up theirs," Kitty said. "Whoa!" Lizzie said.

Just then, Lizzie received a telepathic thought message from Jean, whose thought seemed tentative, probably because she was afraid of being thrown against a wall again. '_Lizzie-please do not throw me against a wall again.'_ _'Sorry'_, Lizzie thought apologetically. '_The professor wants you and Kitty to report immediately to the lower levels. Contact Rogue and Kurt as well. Do you know them?'_ _'No, but I can find them,'_ Lizzie told her. _'No big.' 'Good,'_ came Jean's reply.

"We gotta go, Gordo," Lizzie said. "The professor wants us in the lower levels." "Okay," Gordo said, seeming a bit disappointed. "I'll see you later, I guess." "'K, bye!" Lizzie and Kitty started off towards the school.

"What's up?" Kitty asked. "Not sure," Lizzie answered. "Jean just says that the professor needs us in the lower levels, and to get Rogue and Kurt." "Oh, okay," Kitty said. "I'll go find Kurt. You get Rogue." "Um...okay," Lizzie said, watching as Kitty disappeared inside a wall.

As she walked briskly down hallways, she let her mind zip in and out of other minds until she found the one she was looking for. '_Hey, Rogue'_, she said. _'I'm sending you a telepathic message. You won't be able to answer. My name is Lizzie McGuire, and I'm new here. The professor wants us down in the lower levels, so report there immediately. Much luv!'_

She could vaguely sense Rogue's confusion and anger at having someone poking around in her mind, but didn't really care as she headed downstairs.

She then encountered a problem, the same one that had bothered her earlier about getting to the jet. Lizzie sighed. She'd have to wait until someone came down to use the handprint and retina scan.

Finally, Kitty came floating down through the ceiling, and there was a clap of air rushing in as Kurt appeared out of nowhere. "Whoa!" Lizzie stumbled back. "Sorry," Kurt apologized. "Hi. I'm Kurt, also known as Nightcrawler." "Hi, I'm Lizzie," Lizzie introduced herself, shaking his hand.

Kitty opened the doors, granting access for the three. There, the professor and Jean were sitting, quietly talking around a conference table. "Ah, welcome," the professor smiled. "I'm glad you could make it. Please, sit."

The three sat, Lizzie a little speechless, the other two a little careless and bored. "Do you have any news on Miranda?" Lizzie asked, suddenly aware that she had nearly forgotten about her friend. "Well-"the professor stopped as Rogue sauntered into the room, followed by Storm and Scott.

"Well, now that everyone is here," the professor said, "we can start. We have several things to discuss. The first of which is you, Lizzie McGuire." "Me?" Lizzie squeaked out. "Yes," the professor nodded. "We have a proposition for you, a decision that should not be taken lightly." Lizzie's pulse sped up as she anticipated the question. "We have seen your determination, your very good fighting skills, and the skill in which you use your powers," Jean continued. "You seem to genuinely care about people, you would never purposely want to hurt anyone unless it was in self-defense or for someone else who was hurt. Despite the fact that you stole a jet and stole powers without the owner's assent, it was all for a good cause."

"And so," the professor finished. "We have decided that we would like to ask you to join the X-Men. Think about this carefully." The room was silent, and all eyes were on Lizzie, including the indifferent Rogue's.

Lizzie's mind raced with possibilities. A few days ago, she would have accepted in a heartbeat, but now she had seen the difficulty and hurt that came with this decision, having fought evil face to face. If she said no, she would never have to worry about dangers, or being killed before she reached the age of 21. '_Do I really want this?'_ she asked herself. She was about to say no, when she saw Miranda in her mind's eye, weak, helpless, and sobbing for Lizzie to help her. She imagined dozens of other people who also needed her help, and finally, her mind was made up.

"Yes," Lizzie answered. "Are you sure?" the professor asked her. "Once you say yes, it will be hard to turn back." "I'm positive," Lizzie answered. "Very well," the professor answered. "Welcome to the X-Men." Lizzie felt Kitty's hand on her shoulder, and could almost see her grin.

"Now, onto the next subject," the professor continued. "Your friend, Lizzie. Miranda." Lizzie's blood ran cold at the mention of her friend. "Is she..." Lizzie gulped, trying to keep tears from forming in her eyes. "Is she dead?"

"No," the professor said. "At least, not yet. We have to decide what to do, and if we dare rescue her." "We must!" Lizzie stood up, starting to mildly panic at the thought of not helping Miranda. "I agree," Kitty said. "So do I," Rogue admitted, and Lizzie glanced over at her in gratitude. Kurt agreed as well, much to Lizzie's relief.

"Very well," the professor said. "This mission calls for only a few, to get past Magneto's guards, as we are going straight to his hideout." "Do we know where that is?" Lizzie asked. "We're doing research on areas where we think he might be," Storm told her.

"Any volunteers?" the professor asked. Lizzie raised her hand, and a few seconds later, Scott and Kitty did as well. "Any others?" the professor asked, and finally, after a few tense seconds, Rogue raised her hand. "Very well," the professor repeated for what seemed to be the third millionth time.

"We'll do research, and get going. Meanwhile, Lizzie will be trained for her role in the X-Men, and all of you be ready to go." The X-Men started leaving the room, but Lizzie remained in her chair, a little amazed at what had just happened. She had joined the X-Men, and her first mission was to rescue her best friend. Never in her life had she expected for the move to a strange little town to turn out like this.

......................................................................................................

Lizzie lay on her bed upside down, watching Kitty floating in the air turning cartwheels and Rogue surfing the Net on Lizzie's laptop, which she had borrowed.

"Why did you guys volunteer?" Lizzie asked. "I mean, you didn't have to." "Lizzie!" Kitty admonished her, turning upside down to face her. "You're my friend! I'll do anything to help you or any of your friends! Besides, Gordo's kinda cute..."

Lizzie laughed. Rogue turned away from the screen to look at Lizzie. "You seem like a good person," she answered. "Besides, I've never turned down a chance at having my head blown off." Lizzie and Kitty laughed, and Rogue smiled slightly as she returned to her Google search.

.......................THE NEXT DAY..............................

"Okay, here's your suit!" Kitty said, showing Lizzie where her X-Man suit was hanging up. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Lizzie murmured softly. "It's like...a dream come true. I only wish it wasn't Miranda who was in trouble." "Life is funny like that," Kitty said. "It gives you what you want, but always for a price." Lizzie looked at her. "That actually makes sense!" she said, slightly astonished.

"I can make sense if I want to!" Kitty grinned. Lizzie fought back bubbles of laughter, and Kitty helped her get her handprint scan into the computers so that she could open the doors on her own instead of needing someone to do it for her.

"Do you think there's anyway I can speed this process of waiting for news up?" Lizzie asked Kitty. Kitty shook her head. "Doubtful. Unless you can tap into Magneto's brain, which I wouldn't suggest, as it is severely twisted."

Lizzie's smile unnerved Kitty. "Lizzie? What are you thinking? Oh, no. Oh, no! Lizzie, please-"

By now Lizzie wasn't listening as she waltzed up the stairs and to the room they all shared, locking herself in the bathroom and sealing up all walls, ceilings, floors, doors, and windows, so that Kitty and no one could dare try and enter. And so, she sent her mind wandering, searching for Magneto.


End file.
